THE GEORGE PIERCE WADSWORTH HOUSE
This report was written on 20 March 1994

1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the George Pierce Wadsworth House is located at 400 S. Summit Avenue in the Wesley Heights neighborhood of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

2. Name address and telephone number of the present owner of the property: The owner of the property is:
Mr. Charles McClure
McClure Properties, Inc.
3027 Maple Grove Drive
Charlotte, North Carolina 28208

(704) 332-1559

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.

4. Maps depicting the location of the property: This report contains maps which depict the location of the property.

5. Current deed book references to the property: The George Pierce Wadsworth House is sited on Tax Parcel Number 071-24-11 and listed in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3914 at page 503.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property prepared by Frances P. Alexander.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains brief architectural description of the property prepared by Frances P. Alexander.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the properties meet criteria for designation set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-400.5:

a. Special significance in terms of history, architecture, and cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the George Pierce Wadsworth House property does possess special significance in terms of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The Commission bases its judgement on the following considerations:
1) the George Pierce Wadsworth House was designed in 1910 by prominent North Carolina architect, Louis H. Asbury;
2) the George Pierce Wadsworth House is one of the earliest houses in the westside streetcar suburb of Wesley Heights;
3) the George Pierce Wadsworth House was the home of an important local businessman, whose enterprises illustrate the economic activities of the city during the early twentieth city;
4) the George Pierce Wadsworth House, and subsequent residential construction in Wesley Heights, illustrate the expansion of the city through the suburban subdivision of surrounding farmsteads; and
5) the George Pierce Wadsworth House property contains a servant’s quarters/carriage house, an increasingly rare building type in the city of Charlotte.

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and association: The Commission contends that the architectural description by Frances P. Alexander included in this report demonstrates that the George Pierce Wadsworth House property meet this criterion.

9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes a designated historic landmark. The current appraised value of the improvements to the George Pierce Wadsworth House is $153,210.00. The current appraised value of the George Pierce Wadsworth House, Tax Parcel Number 071-024-11 is $54,700.00. The total appraised value of the George Pierce Wadsworth House is $207,910.00. Tax Parcel Number 071-024-11 is zoned 02.
Date of Preparation of this Report: 20 March 1994

Prepared by: Frances P. Alexander, M.A.
for
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
P.O. Box 35434
Charlotte, North Carolina 28235

(704) 376-9115

Physical Description

Location and Site Description

The George Pierce Wadsworth House is located in the Wesley Heights neighborhood, an early twentieth century streetcar suburb, of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Wadsworth House sits on a corner lot at the junction of South Summit Avenue and West Second Street, two blocks north of the West Morehead Street thoroughfare. The tracks of the former Piedmont and Northern Railway follow Litaker Street, one block south of the Wadsworth House. This house is one of the larger and earlier houses in this residential neighborhood of tree-lined streets. Much of the surrounding neighborhood dates to the 1920s and 1930s.

Facing Summit Avenue, the George Pierce Wadsworth House is sited off-center on its lot with a curved drive and porte cochere on the West Second Street side and a circular drive between the rear of the house and the servant’s quarters. Portions of the original scored carriage driveway with high rounded curbs remain. The servant’s quarters/carriage house is located directly to the rear of the main house. An original walkway runs along the front of the house with a walkway and steps connecting the front walk with the rear drive. The gardens and yard are found on the south and southwest sides of the house. Vestiges of the terraced lawn survive as do some original plantings, including now mature oak and maple trees. The Wadsworth House is now operated as a funeral home.

The proposed designation includes the house, the servant’s quarters/carriage house, and the surrounding yard.

Architectural Description

Main House

The George Pierce Wadsworth House is a large, two and one-half story, frame house sheathed in wood shingles. The house has a truncated L-shaped plan formed by the rectangular massing of the main block and the two story rear ell. The house has a raised, brick foundation, a hip roof covered in asphalt shingles, overhanging eaves, and hip roofed dormers. A hip roofed porch extends across the facade and terminates in a porte cochere on the north side. The wide porch has shingled box piers and a shingled skirt between the piers. The facade has four irregularly placed bays and an off-center entrance. The wide entrance has divided sidelights and transom, and the door has a multiple light upper section. The windows vary in size and type, but most are sixteenover-one light, double hung, wooden sash. Banks of Craftsman style windows are located in the southwest corner of the second floor, corresponding to a sleeping porch. An inset summer porch beneath the sleeping porch has a hipped roof bay on the southwest elevation and a single entrance, with transom, on the rear elevation. The window openings in the bay and rear door are screened. The house has both interior and exterior brick chimneys. A molded projecting cornice divides the two main floors of the house.

The rear ell has an irregular massing. The first floor has a gable roof with an engaged porch roof over an enclosed porch. A modern double loading door and a single door are found on the rear elevation of the enclosed porch. The second floor is smaller than the first and has a hip roof extending from the roof of the main block.

The interior has a wide, formal entrance hall which extends to the rear porch. A horizontal paneled door separates the rear porch from the entrance hall. The front hall is flanked by a long living room and a dining room. The entrance hall now has linoleum floors, but the plaster walls, wide, molded door surrounds, base moldings, and a tall chair railing are original. A broad staircase, with square, classical box balusters and curved newel, rises to a landing with a segmental arched, stained glass window. The window has a fixed light transom, and the lower section is a casement window. The stairs are now carpeted. At the stair landing, there is a door opening which originally contained a staircase to the attic. This opening is now closed.

The long living room is separated from the hall by paneled pocket doors. Opposite the hall doorway is a fireplace with a paneled mantel. The ceiling has exposed wooden beams, with original drop globe lamps, and the hardwood floors of the living room are now carpeted. Double multiple light doors in the southwest corner of the room open into the summer porch.

The dining room also has plaster walls and exposed ceiling beams, paneled wainscoting, and Arts and Crafts chandelier, but no fireplace. A paneled door in the northwest corner opens into a butler’s pantry which, in turn, leads into the kitchen. The hardwood floors in the dining room are carpeted. The butler’s pantry has built-in cabinets along the interior walls.

Behind the living room is a small study. The study opens off a small hall, with a closet and small bathroom. Opposite the hall door to the study is a multiple light door, opening onto the summer porch. The doors and windows repeat the broad, molded surrounds, and there is a wide, flat chair railing. The study has a notable oversized fireplace mantel constructed of brick. The mantel is composed of a flat, brick back wall from which a molded classical mantel projects. The room also contains original Arts and Craft wall light fixtures. The hardwood floors in the study are also carpeted.

Located in the rear ell, the kitchen has undergone little alteration although it is now used as a preparation room for the funeral home. The kitchen repeats the wide, molded door and windows surrounds, and the use of horizontally paneled doors. Some original fixtures are intact. To the rear of the kitchen is the laundry room. Along the south side of the kitchen and laundry room is the enclosed porch which contains an open rear staircase leading to the second floor main staircase landing. The staircase has box balusters and newel. The walls and ceiling of the porch have the original vertical wood paneling except along the south wall where the porch has been enclosed. One window, along the kitchen wall, has been infilled. The second floor has four bedrooms, two sleeping porches, and two bathrooms. The second floor hall runs the width of the house, although a portion of the hall on the south side has a door opening to close off two bedrooms and a bathroom. The hall has original light fixtures. The bedrooms all have original horizontal paneled doors, wide, molded surrounds, and plaster walls and ceilings. The hall and the bedrooms are all now carpeted. Two of the bedrooms have fireplaces, and the paneled mantels are original. The bathrooms have their original fixtures, including freestanding tubs, sinks, and tile. The sleeping porch on the south side was used as a kitchen when this portion of the second floor was converted to an apartment, probably in the late 1940s. However, the kitchen fixtures are freestanding and have required little alteration.

The house has undergone relatively little alteration despite the change in function. Some general deterioration is evident, notably in the rear service areas of the house, but otherwise the historic fabric is intact.

Servant’s Quarters/Carriage House

The Servant’s Quarters/Carriage House is located at the rear of the property and is separated from the main house by the circular driveway. This building is a one story tall, frame building with a rectangular plan. This building has a brick foundation, shingled veneer, and asphalt shingled, hip roof. The two bays of the garage occupy the northern half of the building, and the living quarters the southern portion. The hinged, double doors to the garage appear to be replacements. The living portion of the building has an engaged porch at the south end, and the porch is supported by classical box piers. This south elevation has three irregular bays. The door occupies the easternmost bay, and there are two windows. The east elevation is symmetrical with a central entrance, covered by a modern metal awning, and two flanking windows. The windows in this building, as in the main house, are sixteen-over-one light, double hung, wooden sash. The building has one interior, brick chimney. The garage is still used as such, and the servant’s quarters are used for storage. The building has good integrity.

Historical Overview

The George Pierce Wadsworth House was designed by prominent North Carolina architect, Louis H. Asbury, in 1910, and construction was completed in 1911 (Louis H. Asbury, Book of Commissions, Job No. 71, July 1910). Local businessman, George Wadsworth commissioned Asbury to build his new house on property which the Wadsworth Land Company had recently subdivided into Wesley Heights, a middle class suburb located west of downtown between West Trade Street and W. Morehead Street. The George Pierce Wadsworth House was one of the first houses built in the new suburb which was called Wesley Park on early plans (C.G. Hubbel, Wesley Park Map, July 1910).

By 1892, much of the hillside between Tuckaseegee Road and Sugaw Creek had been acquired by George Wadsworth’s father, John W. Wadsworth (1835-1895), who ran the largest livery stable in Charlotte. In addition to his livery at North Tryon Street and Sixth Street, Wadsworth also assisted in operating the first horsedrawn streetcar system in the city. Coming to Charlotte in 1857, John Wadsworth began with a small drove of mules and gradually built a large livestock, carriage, and harness business while acquiring extensive land holdings in the city and county (Hanchett, 1984: 14; Mull, 1985: 1). On the westside parcel, where the George Pierce Wadsworth House was later built, Wadsworth operated the “J.W. Wadsworth Model Farm”, which was known for its Holstein cattle. At his death in 1895, Wadsworth’s heirs incorporated the livery and livestock business as Wadsworth Sons Company and subdivided the farm. However, development was delayed after 1909, when the West Trade Street trolley began service north of the property. With streetcar service, the Wadsworths began plans for developing the former farm, but construction was again largely stalled until after World War I when the Charlotte Investment Company bought the land.

George Wadsworth was born in 1879 to John Wadsworth and Margaret Cannon Wadsworth, sister of J.W. Cannon, founder of Cannon Mills. After college in Virginia and Baltimore, George Wadsworth returned to Charlotte to assume the presidency of Wadsworth Sons Company in 1902. George Wadsworth soon began diversifying the family business interests, a necessary step as automobile travel began replacing horsedrawn conveyances. In 1912, he organized Smith-Wadsworth Hardware Company, and in 1914, he helped establish the Carolina Baking Company, which later was subsumed within the Southern Baking Company. Wadsworth was also associated with the Charlotte National Bank as a director. In 1925, Wadsworth Sons Company was liquidated, ending seventy years of local livery and livestock operations. Wadsworth continued his business interests with the Wadsworth Land Company and the Wadsworth-Seborn Company, a sales operation for Reo cars throughout the Carolinas. His other real estate operations included serving as an officer for the Pegram Land Company. The holdings of both Wadsworth and the Pegram Company were platted as North Charlotte (Mull, 1985: 2).

George Wadsworth commissioned Charlotte architect, Louis H. Asbury to design the house at 400 South Summit in 1910, two years after his marriage and the birth of two children. A Charlotte native, Asbury (1877-1975), had established his practice in the city only two years before the Wadsworth commission. Prior to returning to his hometown, Asbury had received his professional training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and had worked for the nationally known firm of Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson, in either its New York or Boston office. Later joined by his son, Asbury had an extensive regional practice until his retirement in 1956. A founding member of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Asbury was among a group of early architects in the city who brought a degree of sophistication, urbanity, and professionalism to early twentieth century building in Charlotte. His clients, exemplified by George Wadsworth, tended to be the businessmen responsible for the growing importance of Charlotte as a regional center for the textile and banking industries (Farnsworth, 1975: 16).

The Wadsworth family continued to live in the house after the sudden death of George Wadsworth in 1930 at the age of 51. James Dallas Ramsey, an officer of the Textron-Southern Company, and his wife, Pearl Shelby Ramsey bought the house in 1936. The Ramseys converted a portion of the west side of the second floor to an apartment and adapted a small sleeping porch as a kitchen, probably during the late 1940s. The Ramseys moved in 1967, and the house stood vacant for two years. In 1969, Mrs. Ramsey sold the property to prominent businessman, Worthy D. Hairston (1902-1969) and his wife, Marie S. Hairston. Hairston, a funeral director who had established the Hairston’s House of Funerals in 1930, moved his business from its Beatties Ford Road location to the Wadsworth House in 1969 (McClure Interview, 29 November 1993).

A Biddleville resident and the son of a Presbyterian minister, Worthy D. Hairston, had attended Charlotte public schools, Harbison College, and Johnson C. Smith University. Prior to forming the funeral home, Hairston was a builder, having trained as a carpenter, and a teacher in Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. His local building projects included the Murkland School in Providence Township, the first school for blacks constructed of stone, and the Grand Theater. Mr. Hairston also served as the first agent for the Washington National Insurance Company in Charlotte. In 1930, Hairston and a partner formed Hairston’s House of Funerals, but after his partner’s death in 1933, Hairston became the sole owner. Worthy Hairston lived less than a year after moving the funeral home to the Wadsworth House, and the Hairstons’ daughter, Marie H. Pettice, operated the business until her death in the mid-1970s. In 1977, Mrs. Hairston’s nephew, Charles McClure, bought the Wadsworth House property. McClure, vho already had an extensive real estate business as well as other commercial operations, continued to operate Hairston’s House of Funerals. McClure changed the name to Northwest Funerals Homes, Inc., and the business is still in operation at this site today (Mull, 1985: 4-5).

Unlike the other early streetcar suburbs in Charlotte, such as Myers Park, Dilworth, and Elizabeth, Wesley Heights was platted without the wide boulevards along which the streetcars ran and which were developed with large, impressive residences. Streetcar service, which was essential to the development of outlying locations prior to the widespread use of automobiles, was available nearby, but did not run through the Wesley Heights neighborhood. After World War I, the Charlotte Investment Company platted roughly half the land, including Summit Avenue, Grandin Road, and Walnut Avenue. The plat extended from West Trade Street and Tuckaseegee Road southwest of the interurban line of the Piedmont and Northern Railway which bisected the former farm parcel (Hanchett 1984: 15). (The Wadsworth House is located one block northeast of the railroad tracks.)

Wesley Heights was the work of Charlotte real estate developer, E.C. Griffith. Griffith, a Virginia native, was pivotal in the construction of many early twentieth century neighborhoods in Charlotte, and Wesley Heights was his first solo project in the city. Griffith had come to Charlotte to work in the real estate department of the American Trust Company, founded, with F.C. Abbott and Word Wood, by George Stephens. Stephens, who was responsible for subdividing the farm of his father-in-law, J.S. Myers, as Myers Park, employed Griffith to oversee the final construction of this streetcar suburb (Blythe, 1961: 306). From Myers Park, Griffith continued his real estate career with Wesley Heights in the early 1920s, but developed the Rosemont subdivision of Elizabeth and Eastover during the same period. By the 1930s, Griffith had been responsible, in some capacity, for the streetcar suburbs which encircled the city.

Development in Wesley Heights was slow initially, but as the population of Charlotte more than doubled between 1910 and 1930, real estate sales improved (Blythe, 1961: 173). In 1928, the second half of Wesley Heights was platted, extending Summit, Grandin, and Walnut Avenues across the railroad to West Morehead Street (Hanchett, 1984: 16). As part of the Wesley Heights project, Griffith focused on the development of West Morehead, which until 1927 had been a minor downtown street. By extending the street across Irwin Creek through the edge of Wesley Heights, Griffith made West Morehead an important link between downtown and Wilkinson Boulevard, the first highway in North Carolina, leading from Charlotte to Gastonia. Griffith encouraged industry to take advantage of these good transportation connections, and persuaded J.B. Duke’s Piedmont and Northern Railway to extend a spurline south to parallel the new thoroughfare (Hanchett, 1984: 17).

Wesley Heights was platted with a grid street pattern, and the lots along the principal northeast-southwest streets were long and narrow, to maximize proximity to the street rail system. House construction was determined, in part, because of the limited streetcar service, and frame bungalows predominated in the area during the l910s and early 1920s. During the late 1920s and 1930s, construction included numerous examples of one story, brick, cross gable cottages, making Wesley Heights a homogeneous neighborhood of bungalows, restrained Tudor Revival cottages, small four unit apartment houses, as well as some earlier and later exceptions to this pattern. The George Pierce Wadsworth House is one of the earliest, and perhaps only architect designed houses in this middle class neighborhood of tree-lined streets.

The changes in ownership and function of the George Pierce Wadsworth House since 1969 illustrate changes in the composition of some older Charlotte neighborhoods. The extensive urban renewal programs of the l950s and 1960s displaced large segments of the black population and put many blacks onto the housing market. In inner city neighborhoods, such as Wesley Heights, housing pressures transformed the formerly white neighborhood. By the 1970s, virtually all residents of Wesley Heights were black. The conversion of the Wadsworth House to a funeral home, after purchase by a long-standing black business family, exemplifies the metamorphosis of this residential area.

Conclusion

Designed by a well-known local architect for a wealthy patron, the George Pierce Wadsworth House breaks with the surrounding homogeneity of Wesley Heights in the size of the parcel, the layout of house and gardens, and the architectural sophistication of the house. Occupying the equivalent of three lots, the Wadsworth House is a large, two and one-half story residence in an area of relatively dense, one story bungalows and cottages. The house, large gardens (vestiges of which remain), carriage drive, and servant’s quarters form an ensemble which contrasts to the uniformly middle class composition of the surrounding area. The survival of the servant’s quarters/carriage house is rare and further underscores the contrast with later construction. Architecturally, the irregular massing, materials, and detailing make the George Pierce Wadsworth House an impressive and rare local example of the Arts and Crafts movement from the early twentieth century.

Bibliography
Bishir, Catherine. North Carolina Architecture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

Blythe, LeGette and Charles Raven Brockmann. Hornets’ Nest: The Story of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Charlotte: McNally of Charlotte, 1961.

Farnsworth, Julie. “Louis Asbury: Builder of a City.” Charlotte Observer, 24 March 1975.

Hanchett, Thomas W. Charlotte Neighborhood Survey: An Architectural Inventory. Volume III. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, November 1984.

Hubbel, C.G. Plat Map. Wesley Park, Section 1, Wadsworth Lend Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. Records of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Interview with Charles McClure, 23 April 1985. Interview conducted by Barbara M. Mull. Records of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Interview with Charles McClure, 29 November 1994. Interview conducted by Frances P. Alexander and Robert Drakeford, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission Member.

Mull, Barbara M. Historical Sketch of the Wadsworth-Ramsey House. April 1985. Records of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1929.

THE LUCIAN H. WALKER HOUSE

This report was writen on January 2, 1989

1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Lucian H. Walker House is located at 328 East Park Avenue, Charlotte, N.C.

2. Name, address and telephone number of the present owner of the property:
The owner of the property is:

Scott C. Lovejoy
Hedrick, Eatman, Gardner & Kincheloe
P.O. Box 30397
Charlotte, N.C., 28230

Telephone: 704/377-1511

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map which depicts the location of the property.

5. Current Deed Book Reference to the property: The most recent deed to this property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5828, Page 269.
The Tax Parcel Number of the property is: 123-076-10

6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property prepared by Dr. William H. Huffman, Ph.D.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property prepared by Dr. Dan L. Morrill, Ph.D.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria for designation set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-399.4:

a. Special significance in terms of its history, architecture, and/or cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the Lucian H. Walker House does possess special significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations: 1) the Lucian H. Walker House, erected in 1894, belongs to the most significant concentration of pre-l900 suburban homes in Charlotte, N.C.; 2) the Lucian H. Walker House, most likely designed by architect Charles Christian Hook (1869-1938), is one of the oldest homes in Dilworth, Charlotte’s initial streetcar suburb, and exhibits architectural features, especially its overall form and massing, which are unique among the extant pre-l900 houses in Dilworth; and 3) the Lucian H. Walker House, situated on a corner lot on the southwestern quadrant of the intersection of E. Park Ave. and Euclid Ave., occupies a place of strategic importance in terms of the surrounding Dilworth streetscapes.

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and/or association: The Commission contends that the architectural description by Dr. Dan L. Morrill which is included in this report demonstrates that the Lucian H. Walker House meets this criterion.

9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes “historic property.” The current appraised value of the improvement is $115,650. The current appraised value of the .241 acres of land is $30,000. The total appraised value of the property is $145,650. The most recent tax bill on the property was $1,827.18. The property is zoned R6-MF.

Date of Preparation of this Report: January 2, 1989

Prepared by: Dr. Dan L. Morrill
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission
1225 S. Caldwell St. Box D
Charlotte, N.C. 28203

Telephone: 704/376-9115

Historical Overview

Dr. William H. Huffman
June, 1988

The Walker house, located at the southwest Corner of Park and Euclid Avenues in Dilworth, was built in 1894 by Lucian H. and Annie S. Walker, and the architect was probably C. C. Hook, one of Charlotte’s outstanding practitioners of that art.

Dilworth, the city’s first streetcar suburb, was a product of the growth spurred by late nineteenth-century New South industrialization based on cotton mills in and around the city. It was developed by entrepreneur Edward Dilworth Latta ( 1851-1925). The Princeton-educated South Carolina native opened a men’s clothing store in Charlotte in 1876, and in 1883, as part of the city’s industrial boom of that decade which centered around cotton mills and mill machinery suppliers, he opened a men’s pants factory. In 1890, Latta formed a development firm, the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company (known locally as the 4C’s) and bought 422 acres a mile or so southwest of town, and had a new subdivision laid out in a grid pattern.

Along the main boulevards and some major side streets, large houses would be built for the well-to-do, with more modest bungalows being built on most of the side streets. To draw prospective buyers out from the city, in 1891 Latta bought out the city’s horse-drawn streetcar line and installed a new electric trolley system that ran from the Square out to Dilworth. Other attractions were a major amusement park (Latta Park) with boating lake, a pavilion for traveling shows, ball fields and a racetrack. Sales promotion was boosted by selling lots on easy installment terms, so that a prospective buyer could be persuaded to use the “rent money” to purchase a new home. Lucian Walker was a bookkeeper at the Mecklenburg Iron Works in 1894 when he and his wife Annie commissioned the 4C’s to build a house for them on Park Avenue.2 It is most likely that the architect of the house was C. C. Hook, who worked for the 4C’s at the time.

Charles Christian Hook ( 1869-1938) was born to German immigrants in Wheeling, W.Va., and received his higher education at Washington University in St. Louis. When he came to Charlotte in 1900, his first position was as a teacher of mechanical drawing in the old South school. He began the practice of architecture by designing houses for Latta’s 4C’s in 1893. A contemporary newspaper article of that date elaborates:” E. D. Latta has arranged to introduce some new styles of architecture at Dilworth, and Mr. Hook will provide plans for five new style residences. The will include the “Queen Anne,” “Colonial,” and “Modern American” styles of architecture. All of the buildings will be built in the best manner, with slate roofs, fine interior finish and ornamental stairways.”3 Hook’s career eventually spanned forty-five years, during which he undertook many landmark commissions in the city and various parts of the state. At times, he was in partnership with others: Frank Sawyer. 1902-1907, Willard Rogers, 1912-1916, and with his son, W. W. Hook, 1924-1938. Among his best-known designs in Charlotte are the old Charlotte City Hall, the Charlotte Women’s Club, the J. B. Duke mansion, the Belk Department Store Trade Street facade of 1927, and the William Henry Belk mansion. Statewide, they include the west wing of the state capital in Raleigh, the Richmond County courthouse, Phillips Hall at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Science Hall at Davidson College, and the State Hospital in Morganton.4

In September, 1894, the Charlotte Observer, in its “Dilworth Dots” column, reported that “The McDowell, Walter, Harrill and Jones houses at Dilworth are in various stages of completion. Each would be an ornament to the city.”5 The following month, the reporter assigned to the Dilworth beat noted, “‘Wonder what color Mr. Walker is to paint the lower part of his house, as he is painting the roof yellow,'” the Observer has often heard asked. The combination will be white, yellow and green – new and effective.” The Harrill, Walker, McDowell, and Jones houses are all handsome additions to Dilworth.6

In December, “Dilworth Dots” recorded the completion of the Walker’s new home, after a note on some amenities in the new suburb: The people living in Dilworth will have almost as many conveniences as the people living in the city. Sewer pipes are now being laid along the boulevard. With this the houses can easily connect. Mr. and Mrs. Lucian Walker will be on the move early this morning.7 By 1902, the Charlotte City Directory records that Lucian Walker was a teller at the Charlotte National Bank, and lived on East Avenue. Annie Walker was shown as the Principal of the Primary Department of the Presbyterian College for Women (a forerunner of Queens College that was built on College Street in 1900-01).8 The following year the Walkers no longer appear in the Directories, and it seems probable that they moved from the city. Prom 1905 to 1912, the house was owned by Mrs. N. H. Bispham, a widow, who sold it to George M. Rose, Jr., and Mary Crow Rose, in which family it remained until 1965. 9 It subsequently passed through a number of owners as Dilworth has re-emerged as a vibrant, revitalized neighborhood and Historic District.

As a representative of the early houses in Dilworth and the early work of C. C. Hook, the Walker house is an important part of that community’s historic fabric.

Notes
1 Dan L. Morrill, “Edward Dilworth Latta and the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company (1890-1925): Builders of a New South City, ” The North Carolina Historical Record 62(1985).293-316.

2 Charlotte City Directory, 1896/7, p. 86.

3 Charlotte Observer, June 4,1893, p.6.

4 Information on file at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission office

5 Charlotte Observer. September 15, 1894, p. 3.

6 Charlotte Observer. October 13,1894, p.4.

7 Charlotte Observer. December 4, 1894, p.6.

8 Charlotte City Directory. 1902, p. 463

9 Mecklenburg County Deed Books 198, p. 388; 291, p.634; 2653, p.537. Rose was a cotton broker with Rose-Webb & Co.: Charlotte City Directory. 1912, p. 368.

Architectural Description

The Lucian H. Walker House is a two story, frame dwelling with a brick pier foundation with subsequent brick in-fill, two off-center, interior brick chimneys, a large, wraparound columned porch with balustrade, shed dormers, and a gable roof and cross gables. Erected in 1894 on the southwestern quadrant of the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East Park Avenue in Dilworth, Charlotte’s initial streetcar suburb, it belongs to an assemblage of suburban houses that occupies a place of seminal influence in the architectural history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. “Dilworth’s noteworthy residential architecture today includes not only some of the city’s few surviving Victorian houses, but also Charlotte’s first experiments with the Colonial Revival,” writes architectural historian Thomas W. Hanchett.1

Colonial Revivalism, which emphasizes classical ornamentation, geometric massing and, at least in North Carolina, simplicity of detail in comparison with the more adventuresome specimens of this motif found in the major cities of the North and Midwest, was probably the most popular example of historic electicism which emerged in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in the United States, including the South. This widespread acclaim was in no small part due to the fact that Colonial Revivalism provided compelling images which enabled wealthy suburbanites to satisfy their “search for order” and their desire to live in an “idyllic escape from the overcrowding, crime, and ethnic strife identified with the city.” 3

It is true that Charlotte’s residential architecture began to undergo a fundamental but gradual transformation away from Vernacular and Victorian motifs and toward so-called “period house” styles, especially Colonial Revivalism, when Edward Dilworth Latta and his Charlotte Consolidated Construction company began selling lots and erecting suburban homes for affluent and middle class residents of Dilworth.3 “Early Dilworth was a curious concoction because its conception was more European than anything in America at the time,” contends historian David R. Goldfield. “Unlike most American suburbs but similar to most European neighborhoods,” he continues, “Dilworth presented a mixture of elite and middle-class residences.” According to Goldfield, this socio-economic heterogeneity gave rise to a “mixture of architectural styles” in Dilworth.4

Goldfield’s excessive claims for Dilworth’s uniqueness in American suburbanization notwithstanding, the neighborhood does contain a rich variety of architectural styles. Not surprisingly, most of the first houses were built on corner lots, where the owners could gain greater separation from their neighbors, at least on one side. Among them are the Harrill-Porter House, a Vernacular style Victorian house similar in its austere simplicity to many houses once found in the center city, including the back streets of Fourth Ward, and, even more significantly, the Mallonee-Jones House and the Robert J. Walker House, two Queen Anne style residences designed by Charles Christian Hook (1869-1938), a native of Wheeling, W. Va, graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and an architect of local and regional importance.5

On June 4, 1893, the Charlotte Observer announced that: Mr. E. D. Latta has arranged to introduce some new styles of architecture at Dilworth, and Mr. Hook will provide plans for five new-style residences. They will include the “Queen Anne,” “Colonial,” and “Modern American” styles of architecture. All of the buildings will be built in the best manner, with slate roofs, fine interior finish and ornamental stairways.6

C. C. Hook was especially interested in ushering Colonial Revivalism into the local built environment. Commenting upon Hook’s intentions, the Charlotte Observer exclaimed in September, 1894, that Hook planned to erect a:

genuine, ‘ye olden time’ house . . . after the style of the typical Southern home, with four large columns, two full stories high, surmounted by a classical pediment. Mr. Hook . . . will make the plans after the true classical style of architecture, which at one time predominated in the South and is being revived. The most striking feature of the house will be its simplicity of design and convenience of arrangement. The so-called ‘filigree’ ornamentation will not consideration, and only the true design wit carried out and thus give Charlotte another style . . . 7

The earliest Colonial Revival style residence in Dilworth which is definitively attributable to C. C. Hook is the Gautier-Gilchrist House at 320 East Park Avenue.8 Its symmetrical facade, large gable roof with dormers, and modillion cornice stand in sharp contrast with the essentially asymmetrical massing and ornate decorative detail of Hook’s Mallonee-Jones House at 400 East Kingston Avenue and his Robert J. Walker House at 329 East Park Avenue.9 The Jones-Garibaldi House at 228 East Park Avenue, erected in 1894, is an even earlier example of Colonial Revivalism in Dilworth; it was probably designed by C. C. Hook, as, most likely, was the Lucian H. Walker House.10

The Lucian H. Walker House is difficult to classify in terms of architectural style. Its symmetrical massing, unadorned molded eaves, Palladian-like tripartite window arrangement near the top of the large, front pediment, and the wraparound porch which is bordered by a balustrade and attenuated, wooden Roman Doric columns with annulets, place the house within the traditions of classical design. Other features of the Lucian H. Walker House, however, most especially the off-center placement of the front entrance, which has sidelights and a transom, and the less than completely balanced fenestration (the majority of the windows are 1/1 sash), suggest that the house does not conform to Colonial Revivalism, such as one clearly encounters with the Jones-Garibaldi House, which was built in the same year, or the Villalonga-Alexander House, which C. C. Hook definitely designed. 11 Perhaps the Lucian H. Walker House is an example of what the Charlotte Observer called the “Modern American” style.12

The rear of the Lucian H. Walker House has experienced considerable modifications, including the interior rooms. Otherwise, the interior of the house retains its essential integrity. A somewhat clumsily-placed, center hallway bisects the first floor, with the parlor and its replacement mantel to the left front. The other mantels in the house are original, as are the ceramic tile fireplace surrounds and hearths. Base moldings, picture moldings, and crown moldings are typical of those found in other homes in the oldest section of Dilworth.

The most dramatic interior feature is an L-shaped stairway and balustrade which leads from the room on the right front to the second floor. On balance, however, the most significant architectural feature of the Lucian H. Walker House is its role in documenting the evolution of Charlotte’s suburban built environment in the late nineteenth century.

Footnotes
1 For a detailed analysis of the architecture of North Carolina’s early twentieth century suburbs, see Catherine W. Bishir and Lawrence S. Early, Early Twentieth-Century Suburbs in North Carolina: Essays on History, Architecture and Planning (Raleigh: Archeology and Historic Preservation Section, Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1985), hereinafter cited as Suburbs. Thomas W. Hanchett, “Charlotte: Suburban Development in the Textile and Trade Center of the Carolinas.” In Suburbs, p. 72. The Colonial Revival style arose in the 1880’s and is attributed to the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White (Charles Fallen McKim, W. R. Mead, Stanford White). For additional information, see Marcus Whiffen, American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles (Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1969), pp.l59-165.

2 David R. Goldfield, “North Carolina’s Early Twentieth-Century Suburbs and the Urbanizing South”, Suburbs, p. 9. Margaret Supplee Smith, “The American Idyll in North Carolina’s First Suburbs: Landscape and Architecture”, Suburbs, p. 23.

3 For a comprehensive history of Dilworth, see Dan L. Morrill, “Edward Dilworth Latta and the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company (1890-1925): Builders of a New South City” The North Carolina Historical Review (July, 1985), pp. 293-316.

4 David R. Goldfield, “North Carolina’s Early Twentieth-Century Suburbs and the Urbanizing South”, Suburbs, p. 9. For an explanation of the term “period house”, see John Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers, and Nancy B. Schwartz, “What Style Is It? Part Four.” Historic Preservation (January-March, 1977), pp. 14-23.

5 Dr. Dan L. Morrill and Caroline Mesrobian, “Survey and Research Report On The Mallonee-Jones House” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, January 2, 1980). Hereinafter cited as Mallonee-Jones. Dr. Dan L. Morrill and Thomas W. Hanchett, “Survey and Research Report On The Harrill-Porter House” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, January 6, 1982). Dr. Dan L. Morrill and Caroline Mesrobian, “Survey and Research Report On The Robert J. Walker House” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, November 5, 1980). Hereinafter cited as Robert J. Walker.

6 Charlotte Observer, June 4, 1893.

7 Charlotte Observer, September 19, 1894. Hook’s earliest Colonial Revival design was for a house which no longer stands.

8 Dr. Dan L. Morrill and Caroline Mesrobian, “Survey and Research Report On The Gautier-Gilchrist House” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, January 7, 1981).

9 Mallonee-Jones. Robert Walker.

10 Dr. William H. Huffman and Dr. Dan L. Morrill, “Survey and Research Report On The Jones-Garibaldi House” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, February 5, 1986). Hereinafter cited as Jones-Garibaldi.

11 Jones-Garibaldi. Dr. Dan L. Morrill and Ruth Little-Stokes, “Survey and Research Report On The Villalonga-Alexander House (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, June 4, 1978). The Villalonga-Alexander House was substantially damaged by fire on March 14, 1948.

12 Charlotte Observer, September 19, 1894.

ROBERT J. WALKER HOUSE

This report was written on November 5, 1980

1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Robert J. Walker House is located at 329 E. Park Ave. in Charlotte, N.C.

2. Name, address and telephone number of the present owner and occupant of the property: The present owner and occupant of the property is:
Kenneth D. Williams, Jr. and wife, Helen C. Williams
329 E. Park Ave.
Charlotte, N.C. 28203

Telephone: (704) 334-4477

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map which depicts the location of the property.

5. Current Deed Book Reference to the property: The most recent deed on this property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3482 at Page 294. The Tax Parcel Number of the property is 123-071-07.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property:

On June 9, 1901, the Charlotte Observer reported that the architectural firm of Hook and Sawyer was designing several buildings in Charlotte and its environs, including the home of Robert J. Walker in Dilworth, Charlotte’s initial  streetcar suburb.1  Charles Christian Hook (1870-1938) and Frank M. Sawyer had established their partnership in October 1898, soon after Sawyer had moved to Charlotte from Anderson, S.C.2 C. C. Hook, a native of Wheeling, W.Va., and graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., was Charlotte’s first resident architect.3 He had come to this community in 1891 to teach mechanical drawing in the Charlotte Graded School, which was situated in the building at the northern edge of Dilworth that had formerly housed the North Carolina Military Institute.4 By 1892, Hook had entered private practice as an architect.5 By the end of his career, Hook had established himself as an architect of importance not only to Charlotte but also to the Piedmont sections of the two Carolinas. Locally, he fashioned such imposing edifices as the Charlotte Woman’s Club, the  Charlotte City Hall, the James B. Duke Mansion and the Charlotte Masonic Temple, to mention only a few.6 He designed houses in Gastonia, Salisbury, Spartanburg and elsewhere.7 Most of his early commissions, however, were for houses in Dilworth, the streetcar suburb that the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company or Four C’s had opened on May 20, 1891.8 Indicative of Hook’s identification in the public mind with the early residential architecture of Dilworth was an article which appeared in the Charlotte Observer on May 20, 1897. “An advertisement that always shows for Mr. Hook’s skill and taste is to be found in the houses in Dilworth, which he designed, and which show the best features of modern architecture,” the newspaper proclaimed.9 Hook was a specialist in the Colonial Revival style; but he did render houses in the  Queen Anne style, an architectural motif which achieved its greatest popularity during the Victorian era.10 Only two Queen Anne style homes that one can definitively attribute to C. C. Hook survive in Dilworth. They are the Mallonee-Jones House (1895), which has already been designated as “historic property” upon the recommendation of the Historic Properties Commission, and the Robert J. Walker House (1901) at 329 E. Park Ave.

Robert Jefferson Walker (1870-1923) and his wife, Hattie Chariton Walker (1876-1967), moved into their new home in Dilworth in November 1901.11 Having grown up in Charleston, S.C., he was a regional representative for the Berlin Aniline Works, a German firm which produced dyestuffs. After the outbreak of World War I, Mr. Walker continued his association with the dyestuffs industry as a representative for the Atlantic Dyestuffs Company. At the time of his death on July 11, 1923, he was also president of the Charlotte Knitting Company.12 In the opinion of the Charlotte News, Robert J. Walker was “prominently connected in community affairs.” 13 He was a member and vestryman at  Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Dilworth; he served on the Board of Directors of St. Peters Hospital in Fourth Ward and on the Board of Directors of Thompson Orphanage. He was a Mason and a Shriner.14

Mattie Chariton Walker lived in the house for many years after her husband’s death. After an extended illness, she died in the Wesley Nursing Center in Charlotte on November 3, 1967. She was ninety-one years old. A native of Savannah, Ga., Mrs. Walker, in keeping with the values and customs of her upbringing, devoted most of her time and energy to rearing the six children (three boys and three girls) which she and Mr. Walker had brought into this world. She was also a charter member of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church and an active participant in the Daughters of the American Revolution. 15

On October 4, 1972, Kenneth D. Williams, Jr., and his wife, Helen C. Williams, bought the house from Mary Belle N. Lowry, who had owned the property since May 1944 and had resided there as well. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been meticulously restoring the house. Happily, Mr. Williams is an architect. 16
Footnotes:

1 Charlotte Observer (June 9, 1901), p. 5.

2 Charlotte Observer (October 13, 1898), p. 5.

3 George Welch, a resident of Charlotte, did design several structures in the community in the 1870’s, including Second Presbyterian Church, the opera house and the jail. None of these structures is extant. Apparently, Welch was not a professional architect (Charlotte News (April 15, 1901), p. 1.).

4 Charlotte News (September 17, 1938), p. 12.

5 Charlotte Observer (April 3, 1892), p. 4.

6 Dan L. Morrill and Ruth Little Stokes, “Survey and Research Report on the Clubhouse of the Charlotte Woman’s Club.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, April 1978). Dan L. Morrill and Jack O. Boyte, “Survey and Research Report on Lynnwood (James B. Duke House).” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, January 1977). Dan L. Morrill and Caroline I. Mesrobian, “Survey and Research Report on the Charlotte City Hall.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, February 1980). Dan L. Morrill and Laura A. W. Phillips, “Survey and Research Report on the Masonic Temple.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, April 1980).

7 For a representative sample of the work of Hook and Sawyer, see Some Designs By Hook & Sawyer, Architects, Charlotte, N.C., 1892-1902 (Queen City Printing & Paper Co., Charlotte, N.C.). A copy is available in the Carolina Room of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library.

8 Charlotte News (May 20, 1891), p. 1. The president of the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company was Edward Dilworth Latta.

9 Charlotte Observer (May 20, 1897), p. 3.

10 Charlotte Observer (September 19, 1894), p. 4.  Charlotte Observer (June 4, 1893), p. 6.

11 Charlotte Observer (November 7, 1901), p. 5.

12 Charlotte Observer (July 12, 1923),p. 5.

13 Charlotte News (July 12, 1923), p. 6.

14 Charlotte Observer (July 12, 1923), p. 5.

15 Charlotte Observer (November 4, 1967), p. 4B.

16 Interview of Helen C. Williams by Dr. Dan L. Morrill (October 28, 1980). Mecklenburg County Deed Book 1125, Page 19. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3482, Page 294. The original deed to the property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 168, Page 220.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains an architectural description of the property prepared by Caroline I. Mesrobian, Architectural Historian.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-399.4:
a. Special significance in terms of its history, architecture and/or cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the Robert J. Walker House does possess special historic significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations: 1) it is one of only two known Queen Anne style houses in Charlotte which can be attributed to C. C. Hook, an architect of local and regional importance; 2) it is one of the few Victorian style houses which survive in Dilworth, Charlotte’s initial streetcar suburb.

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling and/or association: The Commission judges that the architectural description included herein demonstrates that the property known as the Robert J. Walker House meets this criterion.

9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply annually for an automatic deferral of 50t of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes “historic property.” The current Ad Valorem appraisal on the Robert J. Walker House is $12,780. The current Ad Valorem appraisal on the .192 acres of land is $2,750. The most recent Ad Valorem tax bill for the house and land was $314.54. The land is zoned R6MF.
Bibliography

. Charlotte News

Charlotte Observer

Interview of Helen C. Williams by Dr. Dan L. Morrill (October 28, 1980) .

Dan L. Morrill and Jack O. Boyte, “Survey and Research Report on Lynnwood (James B. Duke House).” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, January 1977).

Dan L. Morrill and Ruth Little Stokes, “Survey and Research Report on the Clubhouse of the Charlotte Woman’s Club.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, April 1978).

Dan L. Morrill and Caroline 1. Mesrobian, “Survey and Research Report on the Charlotte City Hall.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, February 1980) .

Dan L. Morrill and Laura A. W. Phillips “Survey and Research Report on the Masonic Temple.” (a manuscript produced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, April 1980) .

Records of the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds Office.

Records of the Mecklenburg County Tax Office.

Some Designs By Hook & Sawyer, Architects, Charlotte, N.C., 1892-1902 (Queen City Printing & Paper Co., Charlotte, N.C.).

Vital Statistics of Mecklenburg County.

Date of Preparation of this Report: November 5, 1980

Prepared by: Dr. Dan L. Morrill, Director
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission
3500 Shamrock Dr.
Charlotte, N.C. 28215

Telephone: (704) 332-2726
Architectural Description

This  Queen Anne style house, located on the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Euclid and E. Park Avenues in Dilworth, was designed by Charles C. Hook for Robert J. Walker in 1901. The two story frame house, with basement and high attic, is a fine example of Victorian eclecticism, with a variety of wall surfaces, porches, roof lines, and window types.

The front elevation (southwest) features a  wood shingled porch which shelters the central entrance and a  double hung, 1/1 window. This section of the facade, which projects from the main block of the house, is accentuated by a  gambrel roof, it featuring a large Palladian window. The remainder of the facade, which is weatherboarded, contains a first story picture window with stained glass  transom and a second story double hung, 1/1 window. A tiny oriel window punctuates the steeply pitched  gable roof. A one story porch with classical columns spans the intersection of this facade and the right side elevation (southeast) a bay window faces the intersection of E. Park and Euclid Avenues on both stories.

An exterior chimney with central, arched recess dominates the right side elevation. Fenestration includes a picture window with stained glass transom and double hung, 1/1 windows of varying sizes in the second story as well as in the recessed section on the first floor. Oval end windows pierce the double gable roof. A single bay, rear wing features a double hung, 2/2 window. The side of this wing which faces the rear elevation (northeast) contains two centrally placed double hung, 2/2 windows, the upper one within the gambrel roof end. The main block contains an end, double hung, 2/2 window on both stories.

The left side elevation (northwest), which once overlooked the Walker’s side yard and garden, is perhaps the most varied of all the house’s elevations. It is comprised of the main block flanked by a rear wing with side entrance reached by a single flight of stairs, and a front wing featuring the side of the porch which faces onto E. Park Ave. Above this is a small oriel window. The main block is punctuated by double hung, 2/2 windows flanking a central, projecting bays it contains an attenuated double hung window which lights the interior stairwell. An interior chimney projects from the gable roof end.

On the interior, the first floor (ceiling height 11 feet) contains four major rooms which flow into one another in a circular fashion through double sliding doors. The entrance hall (southwest) features a massive staircase which rises two flights to the second floor. A fireplace, comprised of a classical mantel with columns and bead and reel decoration and a marbleized tile surround and hearth is located beneath the stairway. The floor, as in the other public rooms, hasa parquet border; this particular one is formed by narrow oak boards stained in several different shades for contrasting effect.

The parlor (southeast) is the most elegant room in the house. Plaster relief panels in the form of intertwined leaves divide the wall areas; the walls themselves still show remnants of a jade green satin damask fabric bearing an iris pattern. The corner mantel and mirrored overmantel adorned with classical columns are of bird’s-eye maple and have never been painted. The parquet floor appears to be composed of oak, maple, and mahogany, and is laid in an interlocking fret pattern. The ceiling fixture is of solid brass and is original to the house.

The east back room, the dining room, features a corner mantel with brackets and attenuated columns. Its surround and hearth are composed of marbleized green tiles moulded in the shape of shells. Bands of variously shaded, stained wood form the border of the floor. A butler’s pantry and kitchen are behind the dining room, while the room directly behind the entrance hall (northwest) was used originally as a den.

The second floor (ceiling height 10 feet) contains five major rooms; three of them were used by the Walker family as bedrooms and a nursery. The small room above the den was used as an office by Mr. Walker, while the back room directly above the kitchen wing was the servant’s quarters.

The 1911 Sanborn Insurance Map shows that a stable and automobile garage were located at the rear of the property. Neither exist today; the stable was demolished before the 1929 Sanborn Insurance inventory was taken.

Survey and Research Report

 on the

 Jesse and Mary K. Washam Farm

1.  Name and location of the property:  The property known as the Jesse and Mary K. Washam  Farm is located at 15715 Davidson-Concord Road in Davidson, North Carolina.

2.    Name, address, and telephone number of the current owner of the property:

Joe K. Washam
15715 Davidson-Concord Road
Davidson, NC 28036

JAGCO Associates
19449 Peninsula Shores Dr.
Cornelius, NC 28031

3.Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.
4.A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map depicting the location of the property. UTM Coordinates:  17 520852E 3921709N
5.Current deed book reference to the property: The most recent deeds to the property are found in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 6254, page 201 and 7090, page 413.  The tax parcel numbers for the property are 011-092-14 011-092-05.
6.A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property prepared by Emily and Lara Ramsey.
7.A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property prepared by Emily and Lara Ramsey.
8.Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria for designation set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-400.5.
a.Special significance in terms of its history, architecture, and/or cultural importance.  The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission judges that the Washam Farm possesses special significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.  The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations:

1)       The Washam Farm is a tangible reminder of the last prosperous decades of Mecklenburg County’s agrarian economy, before regional and nation-wide depressions effectively ended the reign of King Cotton and the small farmer in the South.

2)      The Washam Farm is an integral part of the Ramah Community in northeast Mecklenburg County and an important part of the rural corridor that runs along Davidson-Concord Road.

3)      The Washam Farm is an excellently preserved example of a twentieth-century farmstead – the house and eclectic collection of early-twentieth century outbuildings form a comprehensive complex that retains its original pastoral setting despite nearby residential and commercial development.

4)      The Washam Farmhouse, originally a three-room tenant house, is indicative of Mecklenburg County’s small farmsteads, which expanded and evolved to fit the needs of growing families and changing farming operations.

5)       The Washam farmhouse is a rare surviving example of a bungalow farmhouse in Mecklenburg County, reflecting the influence of current architectural trends and the intimate connection between the area’s small towns and the surrounding countryside.
b.Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling and/or association: The Commission contends that the architectural description prepared by Emily Ramsey and Lara Ramsey demonstrates that the Washam Farm meets this criterion.
9.Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes a designated “historic landmark”.  The current appraised value on the farmhouse is $44,650.00.  The current appraised value of the 1.47-acre parcel of land on which the house and majority of the outbuildings stand (owned by Joe Washam) is $34,570.  The current appraised value of the 84.79-acre tract owned by JAGCO Associates is $680,190.00

Date of preparation of this report:  January 30, 2002

Prepared by:

Emily Ramsey and Lara Ramsey
2436 N. Albany Ave., Apt.  1
Chicago, IL 60647
Statement of Significance

Jesse and Mary K. Washam Farm
15715 Davidson-Concord Road
Davidson, NC

Summary

The Jesse and Mary K. Washam Farm is a property that possesses local historic significance as a tangible reminder of the last prosperous years of Mecklenburg County’s once thriving agrarian economy, before regional and nation-wide economic depressions ended the era of southern dominance over cotton production and the autonomy of small, independent cotton farmers, and as an integral part of the closely-knit farming community centered around Ramah Presbyterian Church.  When Jesse Washam began farming operations in the early 1900s on the modest parcel of land left to him after his father death, Mecklenburg County farmers were in the last years of a prolonged economic boom that had begun in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.  Charlotte, with its four converging rail lines, had become a thriving cotton trading center in the postbellum period and served as the heart of a profitable cotton textile region that covered North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Small farmers across the county took advantage of high cotton prices and close proximity to Charlotte by planting cotton as their major cash crop, and many prospered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Although Mecklenburg County would remain largely agrarian until after World War II, the good times for small farmers came to an abrupt halt by the late 1920s and early 1930s.  Henry Washam, Jesse’s father, had taken advantage of this earlier prosperity by buying a large parcel of land in the Ramah Community between Davidson and Huntersville, where he planted and raised cotton with the help of several tenant farmers.  The Washams took their place as part of the Ramah community, a small and closely-knit group of Scots-Irish farming families.  Henry made a good living from his sizeable farming operation; by the early 1910s, when Jesse moved into one of his father’s former tenant houses and began growing cotton, the cotton boom in Mecklenburg County was beginning to fade.  Jesse Washam’s renovation and major expansion of the three-room house in the early 1920s was a product of the last prosperous years for the area’s small-scale cotton farmers.

The Washam Farm is also significant as an excellently preserved example of a twentieth-century farmstead.  The house and collection of early-twentieth century outbuildings, which includes a large barn, tool shed, corn crib, chicken and brooders houses, a cotton shed, a tenant house, and a concrete-block  well house (an early and unusual example of hand-formed concrete block construction echoed in the nearby Bradford store), form a comprehensive complex that retains its original pastoral setting despite nearby residential and commercial development.  Originally a three-room tenant house, the Washam Farm is also significant as a representative example of the evolution of farm complexes.  The numerous changes and additions to the house and the outbuildings, most completed in the early twentieth century, are indicative of Mecklenburg County’s small farmsteads, which expanded and evolved to fit the needs of growing families and changing farming operations.  In addition, the house itself is a rare surviving example of a bungalow farmhouse in Mecklenburg County; although bungalows were popular throughout the county’s numerous small towns and in Charlotte, the Washam House represents a break from the area’s typical farmhouse, most of which were simple frame I-houses.

Agricultural Context and Historical Background Statement

Between 1860 and 1910, Mecklenburg County’s agricultural economy experienced a prolonged period of prosperity that would ultimately be its last.  The North Carolina piedmont, never a major player in the plantation economy that characterized the antebellum South, had ultimately profited from its status as a land of small-scale farms – after the Civil War, the majority of Mecklenburg County farmers, having never been dependent on slave labor, were able to replant and recover quickly after the war.1  In addition, the post-war period brought new opportunities to the small farmer – new opportunities in cotton.  The introduction of the fertilizer Peruvian Guano, which made cotton (a notoriously difficult and labor-intensive crop) easier to grow, meant that cotton was, for the first time, a profitable cash crop for even the most modest farmer.  Close proximity to Charlotte, which had emerged by the turn of the century as a regional cotton trading center and burgeoning cotton textile hub, gave farmers easy access to a far-reaching market for their cotton crops.  The impact of these developments was reflected in the rapid increase in the production of cotton in Mecklenburg County – between 1860 and 1880, the number of cotton bales produced in the county tripled, from 6,112 bales to 19,129 bales.2

The cotton boom would continue well into the twentieth century – cotton production peaked in the county in 1910 at 27,466 bales – but by the mid-to-late-1920s, the cotton market in Mecklenburg County and across the South was faltering.  What had been a magic crop at the turn of the century became a liability by the beginning of the Great Depression, when cotton prices dropped to an all-time low of around five cents per pound.  The arrival of the boll weevil in the early 1920s, capable of devouring entire fields of plants in a matter of days, compounded the problems of small-scale cotton farmers, many of whom could not afford the expensive pesticides and equipment that were needed to make cotton profitable in the twentieth century.3  In 1910, Mecklenburg County’s urban population surpassed its rural population for the first time in the county’s history.  Ten years later, the census reported the county’s first recorded decrease in farm production.  The Great Depression accelerated the migration from farm to city; between 1930 and 1940, the number of farms in Mecklenburg County dropped from 3,773 to 3,223.4

When the Washam family first settled in the Ramah community in northern Mecklenburg County, between Davidson and Huntersville, King Cotton was far from its eventual demise –farmers were planting and harvesting cotton at an unprecedented rate with the help of tenant farmers, and Henry Jackson Washam was eager to profit from the economic boom.  Henry Washam began farming a thirty-acre plot of land along the Davidson-Concord Road, which he most likely acquired through his marriage to his first wife, a Shields, in the mid-nineteenth century.  He and his family lived in a simple, frame I-house (no longer extant), raising cotton and corn as primary cash crops.  As Henry’s farming operations proved successful in the midst of the post-Reconstruction cotton boom, he began acquiring additional plots of land; by the time of his death around 1901, his farm totaled almost 200 acres on the north and south sides of Davidson-Concord Road and included the main house along with numerous scattered outbuildings.  Henry Washam’s third wife, Julia Washam, procured, after filing suit against her stepchildren, one-third of her husband’s farmland, in addition to the farmhouse that had served as the seat of the Washam’s farming operations.5 Jesse Washam, who had left the family home in Ramah and moved to Cornelius to live with his uncle, Mack Washam, around the time of his father’s death, inherited just under 32 acres and one of the farm’s three tenant houses.  Jesse did little with the inheritance initially; however, after his marriage to Mary K. Knox (a native of nearby Caldwell Station and member of Bethel Presbyterian Church) in 1909, Jesse Washam returned to the Ramah Community, moved into the modest three-room house on his property, and began farming.  Within a few years,  he had earned enough through cotton to buy three adjoining plots of land; by 1913, Washam had acquired approximately 110 acres of his father’s original farmstead.6  The family grew corn and grain in addition to cotton as major cash crops; Jesse took his cotton to be ginned just down the road, at Hurd Bradford’s store, and sold the ginned cotton to local mills in nearby Huntersville and Davidson.7

Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Jesse Washam made several changes and additions to his farmstead, including a side addition to the already existing barn, a new chicken coop, tool shed and a cotton shed.  With the help of his teenage sons, Washam dug a basement and constructed a solid brick foundation beneath the house; the family used the cool space to store canned fruits and vegetables.8  By 1922, Washam was successful enough to undertake a major renovation on the house itself, one which he doubtless hoped would transform the former tenant house into a more fitting centerpiece for his prosperous farmstead, in addition to providing much needed room for his growing family.9  The addition roughly tripled the size of the house and completely changed its appearance.  By the mid-1920s, the original three-room house was completely obscured behind a new, stylish front – passerby on the Davidson-Concord Road saw not a modest hall-and-parlor farmhouse, but a spacious, one-and-a-half story bungalow cottage.

This expansion was the product of  Jesse Washam’s last prosperous years as a cotton farmer.  By the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, cotton prices had already slipped considerably, and farmers throughout Mecklenburg County were forced to reduce their crop and livestock production or sell their farms.  Although Jesse Washam managed to weather the hard times and keep his farmstead, his farming operations were never as profitable as they had been in the first decades of the twentieth century.  In 1939, Jesse Washam died at the age of 59.  Fred Washam took over farming operations, and Mary K. and several of the children stayed in the house until the 1960s.  Mary K. Washam died in 1963, and the Washams planted their last cotton crop in 1965; as Joe Washam recalled, “There was the boll weevil, and that made everything hard, and that year there was a killing frost, and most people around here just didn’t plant cotton the next year.  You couldn’t make money off it unless you had a cotton picker and at least couple of hundred acres.”10  Eventually, only Joe Washam remained in the house, and in the 1990s, the family sold all but 1.47 acres (on which the house and most of the outbuildings stand) of the remaining land.  Joe Washam owns the family home and 1.47 acres, and currently lives in the house.  Jagco Associates currently owns the 84-acre parcel behind the house, including the farm’s barn, chicken house and cotton shed – a portion of this parcel should be included as part of the local landmark designation, as it contains not only several significant outbuildings, but also the open fields and pastoral vistas that anchor and provide a visual context for the buildings.

Architectural Significance and Context Statement

Architecturally, the Washam House is significant as a rare surviving example of a bungalow farmhouse in Mecklenburg County.  The vast majority of farmhouses within the county were constructed during the earlier years of the post-war cotton boom, roughly between 1860 and 1900, and the continued popularity of the traditional I-house form (a one-or-two-pile, two-story, side-gable structure) reflected the conservative nature of the county’s typical rural homebuilder.  By the 1910s and 1920s, when the Craftsman bungalow reached its peak as “the most popular and fashionable smaller house in the country,” this rural building boom had ended, and most of the modest and affordable bungalows built in Mecklenburg County were constructed within Charlotte and in the area’s surrounding small towns.11  Those farmhouses that were built in the early twentieth century reflected a continued “kinship” between Mecklenburg’s small towns and the surrounding countryside.  Traditional rural designs had characterized the early buildings of such small towns as Huntersville and Davidson; by the 1920s, popular urban styles – primarily Craftsman bungalows and Colonial Revival forms – were finding their way onto the farm.12  The Washam farmhouse, after its renovation and expansion in 1922, exhibited all of the traits of a typical Craftsman bungalow, including low, overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, large gabled dormer, and a porch with tapered columns set on low brick piers.  This house, transformed from a plain, utilitarian tenant house into a stylish and spacious bungalow, was a fitting reflection of modest but prosperous farming operation that Jesse Washam had made during the first decades of the twentieth century.

The Washam Farm is also significant as an excellently preserved example of a twentieth-century farmstead in Mecklenburg County and as a representative example of the area’s constantly evolving farm complexes.  The typical farm in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Mecklenburg County was a self-sufficient complex, supporting not only cash crops like corn, cotton and grain, but also a variety of livestock (mainly hogs, cows and chickens) and kitchen gardens for family consumption.  The daily operation of an early twentieth century farm required an array of barns, storage sheds, and other outbuildings in addition to the farmhouse itself.  At a time when many of Mecklenburg County farmers were paring down their operations or taking jobs in nearby towns, Jesse Washam remained largely self-sufficient – as late as 1935, he was adding to his farmstead.  The large number of remaining outbuildings at the Washam farmstead are as significant a part of the farm as the house itself, because, as historians Richard Mattson and William Huffman explain, “the more historically complete and intact the farmyard, the more it reveals about the operations of the farm” and the diverse activities that made up daily life on that farm.13

Physical Description

The Washam Farm is situated on the south side of Davidson Concord Road, on a 1.47-acre lot surrounded by open fields.  The house, a one-and-a-half story side-gable bungalow with white-painted weatherboard siding, is fronted by a large front lawn shaded by mature oak trees, and surrounded by the farm’s outbuildings.  The house itself is a rambling one-and-one-half-story side-gable structure covered in white-painted wooden clapboards, with an integrated porch running the entire length of the façade.  The original portion of the house now forms a large rear wing, with a covered side porch running along its eastern side up to the 1922 portion of the house.  The  1922 front addition, three-bays-wide by two-bays-deep, features two-over-two windows, two side chimneys with decoratively corbelled tops, low overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, and a centrally located front-gabled dormer with paired windows.  The interior of the house has remained virtually unaltered since the 1922 addition, with original fireplace mantels, hardwood floors, decorative wainscoting, a simple central staircase with original newel posts and railing, and original interior doors with hardware.  The eastern chimney was largely replaced after Hurricane Hugo damaged it in 1989; the kitchen in the original portion of the house has been significantly altered, and a new passageway was recently opened up between the other two rooms in the original wing.

The Washam farm complex contains seven outbuildings, most of which date from the 1920s and early 1930s.  The oldest and largest of these outbuildings is the white-painted frame barn with stepped tin roof, portions of which may date from the late 1800s, which sits to the rear of the house, just south of Joe Washam’s property line.  The barn contains six stalls on the ground level and a large open hayloft above.  A large frame tool and equipment shed, with a lean-to side addition used for the Washam’s tractor, and a combination corncrib and tool shed  (also a white frame structure) stand between the main house and the barn.  Two small, unpainted frame structures on the east side of the complex, also across the Washam boundary line, were originally used as a cotton shed (where farmers stored cotton while waiting for prices to rise) and a brooder house – a chicken house used for small chicks, complete with a small furnace to keep the chicks warm.

By far the most interesting outbuilding on the property is the 1935 well house.  While most farm outbuildings in the county were simple frame structures, farmers occasionally branched out into newer building technologies.  Jesse Washam, obviously impressed with neighbor Hurd Bradford’s use of concrete for his country store and for several outbuildings on his property, decided to build his well house from the same type of hand-formed concrete blocks.  As Joe Washam remembers, his father used a crude wooden form with a metal bottom to turn out the blocks, made from a mixture of sand, lime, and aggregate.  The Washam well house, along with the buildings on the nearby Bradford property, form an unusual pocket of concrete outbuildings that reflect the experimentations of local farmers.

Despite minor alterations, the Washam Farm remains an excellently preserved example of an early twentieth century farm complex, and a tangible reminder of the last period of prosperity for Mecklenburg County’s small farmers.

1.  Thomas W. Hanchett, “The Growth of Charlotte: A History” (Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission),  www.cmhpf.org.
2.  Sherry J. Joines and Dr. Dan Morrill, “Historic Rural Resources in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, 1997),  www.cmhpf.org.

3.  Ibid.  Like A Family (get citation, quotation?)

4.  United States
5.  Emily and Lara Ramsey, interview with Joe Washam conducted January 10, 2002.  Hereinafter cited as “Interview”.  Order and Decree No. 9, p. 128, located in the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Courts.
6.  Mecklenburg County Deed Book 349, page 344 and 352, page 281, located in the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds Office.  Tract 1 and 2 from Henry Washams estate were given to Jesse’s sisters, Molly and Addie Washam.  By 1912, Molly had sold her tract to W.R. Puckett, who then sold it to Jesse Washam.  Mack Washam sold his parcel, Tract 3, to W. C. McAuley in 1909.  McAuley sold the tract to Jesse in 1913.

7.  Interview.

8.  Gregory Berka, “Report on the Washam House and Farm” (unpublished research report completed for UNCC Historic Preservation course), 5-6.
9.  Interview.  Mary K. and Jesse would eventually have twelve children: Fanny Bell, Jack, Mary Alice, Fred, Joe, Margaret, Bob, Nell, Nancy, Emily, Martha Ann, and Jesse Jr.

10.  Interview.

11.  McAlister, Virginia and Lee,  A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: 1997), 454.
12.  Richard Mattson, “Small Towns in Mecklenburg County” (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission),  www.cmhpf.org.

13.  Dr. Richard Mattson and Dr. William Huffman, “Historical and Architectural Resources of Rural Mecklenburg County” (North Carolina Division of Archives and History, July 1990), Sec. F, p. 26.

THE RICHARD WEARN HOUSE

This report was written on March 6, 1979

1. Name and Location of the property: The property known as the Richard Wearn House is located at 4928 Tuckaseegee Rd. in Charlotte, N.C.

2. Name, address, and telephone number of the present owner and occupant of the property: The present owner of the property is:

Trust Division
North Carolina National Bank
Charlotte, N.C. 28255

Telephone: 374-5000

The present occupant of the property is:

William Preston Hayes & Edward Lawrence Hayes
4928 Tuckaseegee Rd.
Charlotte, N.C. 28208

Telephone: Unlisted

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map depicting the location of the property.

5. Current deed book reference to the property: The most recent reference to this property is recorded in the Estate Records of Mecklemburg County, Will #69-E-836. The Tax Parcel Number of the property is 05303111.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property:

Richard Wearn (1798-1851) settled in Mecklemburg County in 1831. 1 He was a native of Cornwall, the southwesternmost county of England. 2 Traditionally, Cornishmen secured their livelihood from one of two sources, from the sea and from mining. Illustrative of this truth are the words of a favorite Cornish toast, “fish, tin, and copper.” Indeed, tin mines had abounded in Cornwall since earliest recorded times. In the nineteenth century, however, the mining industry in the region began to languish. An intelligent, independent, and resourceful people, the Cornish miners were compelled to search for new areas in which to practice their customary craft. 3 .Richard Wearn belonged to this aggregate of immigrant miners who left Cornwall in the early 1800’s.

Richard Wearn initially settled in Gatehouse of the Fleet, Scotland, a center of tin mining. There he met and married his wife, Henrietta Thomson Wearn (1803-1847) on November 25, 1822. 4 Soon thereafter, Richard, his wife, and their first child came to the United States. 5 It is reasonable to infer that the decision to move to Mecklenburg County in 1831, nine years after his arrival in this country, was occasioned by the fact that Charlotte was becoming a major center of gold mining. In 1830, Victor Rivafanoli, and agent of a London mining company, had come to Charlotte to purchase and lease property on which to introduce the most up-to-date mining techniques. 6 Rivafanoli brought experienced miners to Mecklemburg County. The mines which these men upgraded or established included the Capps Mine, the Dunn Mine, St. Catherine’s, the Yellow Dog, and the Rudisil Mine. 7 The excitement engendered by these activities intensified in 1831, when a veritable “nest of gold” (one hundred and twenty pounds) was discovered near Charlotte. According to one scholar, this find produced a “frenzy of excitement.” 8 Also indicative of the growing importance of gold mining in Mecklenburg County in the 1830’s was the decision to locate a branch of the United States Mint in Charlotte. 9

The cornerstones of the facility was laid January 8, 1836. 10 Richard Wearn prospered as a gold miner in Mecklemburg County. On August 8, 1837, he purchased a tract of land from William Polk on what is now Tuckaseegee Rd. Here he erected a log house to accommodate his wife and their children. About ten years later, c. 1846, he built a larger home on the same tract. This edifice comprises a portion of the property known as the Richard Wearn House today. 11

Henrietta Thomson Wearn died on January 23, 1847. Richard Wearn expired on November 20, 1851. Both are buried in the  Old Settlers Cemetery in Charlotte. 12 The house was sold to W.W. Elms to settle the Wearn Estate. Soon thereafter, however, J.B. McDonald purchased the structure and gave it to his daughter, who was the wife of George Henry Wearn (1834-1898). Following George Henry’s death, the house was sold to Rufus Holland Reid, again to settle an estate. The transaction marked the end of the Wearn’s occupancy of the structure.  13 The contribution of the Wearn family to the development of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County has persisted, however. Indeed, the descendants of the Cornish miner who settled on Tuckaseegee Rd. in the 1830’s have excelled in a broad army of pursuits, including medicine, engineering, architecture, and politics. 14
Footnotes:

1 Cornelia Wearn Henderson, The Descendants of Richard and Henrietta Wearn, p. 48. Hereafter cited as Wearn.

2 Wearn, p. 5.

3 The Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge & New York, 1910), Vol. VII, p. 180.

4 Wearn, p. 5.

5 Wearn, p. 6.

6 Bruce Roberts, The Carolina Gold Rush (McNally and Loftin, Charlotte, N.C., 1971), p. 16.

7 Henrietta H. Wilkinson, The Mint Museum of Art at Charlotte, A Brief History (Heritage Printers, Inc., Charlotte, N.C., 1973), p. 5. Hereafter cited as Mint.

8 Fletcher M. Green, “Gold Mining: A Forgotten Industry of Ante-Bellum North Carolina.” The North Carolina Historical Review (January 1937), Number I., p.11.

9 Mint., p. 10.

10 Mint., p. 19.

11 Wearn, p. 50.

12 Wearn, p. 5.

13 Wearn, p. 50.

14 For description of the contributions of the descendants of Richard Wearn, see Wearn.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the Richard Wearn House. The Commission was unable to gain access to the interior of the structure.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria set forth in N.C.G.S. 160-A-399. 4:
a. Historical and cultural significance: The historical and cultural significance of the property known as the Richard Wearn House rests upon three factors. First, it is one of the relatively few ante-bellum structures which survives in Charlotte, N.C. Worth noting in this regard is the fact that the structure is a two-story log house in which horizontal board siding and a rear wing have been added. (James A. Stenhouse, “Exploring Old Mecklenburg” Charlotte, N.C., 1952, p. 27). Second, the structure is intimately associated with the history of gold mining in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Third, the structure served as the abode of a family which has made a significant and lasting impact upon the development of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

b. Suitability for preservation and restoration: The overall condition of the structure is fair to good. The structure could be easily preserved. It is noteworthy that the structure is located immediately adjacent to a municipal park.

c. Educational value: The Richard Wearn House has educational value because of the historical and cultural significance of the property.

d. Cost of acquisition, restoration, maintenance, or repair: At present, the Commission has no intention of securing the fee simple or any lesser included interest on this property. The Commission presently assumes that all costs associated with restoring and maintaining the property will be paid by the owner or subsequent owner of the property.

e. Possibilities for adaptive or alternative use of the property: The Richard Wearn House is zoned R9. Moreover, it currently serves as a viable residence. The fact that the structure is immediately adjacent to a municipal park suggests that it could be adapted to purposes associated therewith.

f. Appraised value: The current tax appraisal of the improvements on the property is $5,990. The current tax appraisal of the 25.38 acres of land is $62,180. The most recent annual tax bill on the property was $1,141.85. The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes “historic property.”

g. The administrative and financial responsibility of any person or organization willing to underwrite all or a portion of such costs: As stated earlier, the Commission presently has no intention of purchasing the fee simple or any lesser included interest in this property. Furthermore, the Commission presently assumes that all costs associated with the property will be paid by the present or subsequent owner of the property.

9. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria established for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places: The Commission judges that the property known as the Richard Wearn House does meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. Basic to the Commission’s judgment is its knowledge that the National Register of Historic Places, established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, represents the decision of the Federal Government to expand its recognition of historic properties to include those of local, regional, and state significance. The Commission believes that the investigation of the property known as the Richard Wearn House demonstrates that the property possesses local historical and cultural importance. Consequently, the Commission judges that the property known as the Richard Wearn House does meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.

10. Documentation of why and in what ways the property is of historical importance to Charlotte and/or Mecklenburg County: The property known as the Richard Wearn House is historically important to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for three reasons.

First, the structure is one of the relatively few ante-bellum houses which survives in Charlotte, N.C. Second, the structure is intimately associated with the history of gold mining in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Third, the structure served as the abode of a family which has made a significant and lasting impact upon the development of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Bibliography

An Inventory of Buildings In Mecklenburg County and Charlotte for the Historic Properties Commission.

Fletcher M. Green, “Gold Mining: A Forgotten Industry of Ante-Bellum North Carolina.” The North Carolina Historical Review (January 1937), Number I.

Cornelia Wearn Henderson, The Descendants of Richard and Henrietta Wearn.

Records of the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court Office.

Records of the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds Office.

Records of the Mecklenburg County County Tax Office.

Bruce Roberts, The Carolina Gold Rush.

The Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Vol. VII.

Henrietta H. Wilkinson, The Mint Museum of Art at Charlotte, A Brief History.

Date of Preparation of this Report: March 6, 1979

Prepared by: Dr. Dan Morrill, Director
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission
139 Middleton Dr.
Charlotte, N.C. 28207

Telephone: (704) 332-2726
Architectural Description

The main block of the Richard Wearn House is two stories high, three bays wide and two bays deep, It has a  gable roof of asbestos shingles and projecting eaves. The gable and chimneys are brick and dissimilar. The chimney on the left is older. White horizontal board siding covers the exterior walls. There are no blinds or shutters. The windows on the first floor are  nine-over-six. Two small windows are in each gable end. A single center door with full-height  side lights comprises the front entrance. The doorway and window surrounds are not distinctive in keeping with the motifs found in vernacular farmhouses of this region.

The most imposing feature is a wrap-around porch. The design suggests that the porch was added in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. The roof is supported by a series of turned and tapered columns. The bases of the columns are newel posts for a balustrade which has a slender or attenuated balusters and a molded handrail. A lattice-like pattern occurs at the porch frieze.

Local authorities report that the original part of the house is a two story log structure. It would appear that the house has been modified and enlarged on several occasions. Most probably , the first change involved an extension of the main block to permit the installation of a center hall. Later, the Victorian porch was built. A one-story ell with a gable roof extends from the rear of the main block. This was probably added to house a kitchen. Additions or enclosures also occur on the left rear of the main block.

Two outbuildings are visible from Tuckaseegee Rd. An open-sided wall house with lattice-like columns and brackets and a gable roof is in the back yard.

On balance, the Richard Wearn House exhibits a mixture of architectural styles and designs. Originally a log structure, the house somewhat later assumed the scale and proportions reminiscent of the Federal style. Finally, the house was “Victorianized.”